Photography Consulting

Regardless of whether you are a photographer working on a project by taking your own pictures or by collecting or appropriating them from other sources, at some stage you will have to figure out what exactly you are doing. Is the project well-defined? Does it make sense? Can it go any further and if yes, how can this be done? At what stage is the project finished?

None of these questions are easy to answer. Just like every photographer is unique, each project poses its own unique challenges, requiring its own unique answers to the various questions surrounding it.

If you are a student in a photography program, your peers and teachers will help you figure out the problems. You will get feedback, and you will get challenged. But if you’re not a student then what?

Portfolio reviews are an opportunity to present work and to get feedback, but they come with their own limitations. Typically, you get 20 minutes with someone who is not familiar with your work, an amount of time usually much to short for any kind of deeper engagement.

Add the actual costs of such events (travel, accommodation, the often steep fees to attend), and portfolio reviews can easily become unfeasible for many photographers. There really is no reason why things needs to be that way, especially in this day and age.

I’m available to work with photographers remotely, helping them address and solve problems that arise from their work. In a nutshell, this is how it works: You send your work (in the form of a pdf) a few days before we’re scheduled to meet. That way, I will be familiar with the photographs and with any writing that might exist. Our meetup will then happen using Skype. We will both have the work on our computers in front of us, and we’ll be able to interact almost as if we were in the same room.

I’m available both for portfolio reviews and for longer-term project consulting. The portfolio reviews follow the general outline of such an event, but I will be familiar with the work in question, and we will have an hour to talk (if you need more time, that can easily be arranged). If you need longer-term project consulting this can be arranged around your needs, however frequently you need to get in touch.

Please send me an email (jmcolberg at gmail.com) to establish what you need and to work out a plan for the review or longer-term consultation.